Injury doesn’t overshadow team victory

Powerful.

Efficient.

Selfless.

And it was over less than five minutes into the second half.

It really couldn’t have started any better for Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Bloomington, Ind.

No. 2 University of Houston blew out No. 15 Cleveland State 87-56, even with DeJon Jarreau ailing and icing on the bench.

Quentin Grimes shined but never had to take over.

Fabian White Jr. sparked UH in the first half, when the Vikings technically still had a chance.

The Coogs won the board battle 38-24, shot 47.5 percent from the field while holding Cleveland State to 38.6 percent and put up 50 smooth points in the second half.

Did I mention that UH (25-3) led by 37 points and six Coogs hit double figures in scoring?

In the first round of the latest version of March Madness, UH again looked like a serious Final Four contender.

Heck, even Charles

Barkley declared on national TV that he’s a big fan of this tough and talented Coogs team.

“Doing that without ( Jarreau) will give these kids some confidence going forward,” Sampson said. “Our team (Friday night) was good. Everybody had a role to play, and I thought our kids did a great job of playing their role.”

Jarreau’s hip pointer will become a larger story as UH’s second-round matchup against Rutgers draws near. But after a tighter-than-expected first half against Cleveland State, the Coogs simply overpowered their initial opponent in this socially distanced tournament.

Justin Gorham, Marcus Sasser, Tramon Mark and Brison Gresham stood out while UH kept owning the glass and soaking up extra shots. The Vikings attempted 44 field goals. The Cougars took 17 more and easily were able to shake off a 7-for-25 evening behind the 3-point line.

The culture Sampson has spent years creating paid off with a true team victory Friday. UH’s coach spent the initial part of his post-win Zoom interview critiquing and analyzing a back-and-forth first half that ended with a 37-29 Coogs lead. Then Sampson acknowledged a 31-point blowout and the T-E-A-M fight at the core of yet another highly impressive

and convincing UH win.

“The key word: team,” Sampson said. “DeJon … has been our most valuable player. I think Quentin’s been our best player. But our most valuable player in the last month, for sure, has been DeJon.”

Grimes was 6-of-13 from the field, 4-of-8 on 3s, pulled down four boards and dished out four assists while scoring a game-high 18 points. If Jarreau can’t take the court in the second round, those sharp first-round numbers likely will have to multiply.

But UH also reached 87 points without Jarreau, and blowouts have become commonplace for the Coogs in recent weeks.

When UH rebounds like

this and passes like this and shoots like this — as a team — the Cougars are tough to defend and just as frustrating to try and score against.

They’re a No. 2 seed for a reason.

“We knew that we had to come out there and hit them in the mouth first,” said Grimes, referring to the changes that led to a 50-27 second half that was all UH. “That’s what we did. We kind of played Cougar basketball. Defensively getting stops and easy buckets out there in transition.”

This could be a Final Four team with Jarreau. Without?

UH still has enough to reach the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, not counting a canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Coogs, technically, could have played better on Friday.

They lost their lateseason MVP who can do a little bit of everything.

But they still won by 31 in a one-sided contest that never was in doubt.

Bring on the second round.

Bring on UH’s next big March Madness test.

Sampson’s team is ready for anything.